The Reef (Haifa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. Looking at the whole 16-day window, it’s a tough one for the Haifa area. The Reef (Haifa) is the only spot in the mix, and frankly, it’s not doing us any favours. The swell is tiny, the wind is mostly on it or cross-on it, and the wave energy is weak. There’s a long, quiet stretch ahead.

We kick off on Wednesday, 5th August. The morning starts with a clear sky and a light westerly breeze blowing straight onshore, which is a killer for any quality. Swell is a meagre 2 ft from the WNW, with a short period of 6 seconds and very weak energy (21). The water is sitting at 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The afternoon is more of the same – onshore wind picks up to 9 mph, and conditions are poor. This pattern continues through Thursday and Friday the 7th. Even as the wind swings cross-shore on Friday morning, the swell is still a pathetic 2 ft, period is short, and the energy stays weak (28). The afternoon brings a bit more height, 2 ft, but the wind is back on it. It’s not worth getting wet.

The weekend of the 8th and 9th doesn’t offer any relief. Saturday morning has some clouds and a light cross-shore breeze, but the swell is still a tiny 2 ft with a 6-second period and weak energy (36). The onshore wind picks up hard in the afternoon to 12 mph. By Sunday, the swell height drops back to 2 ft, still with poor conditions. The water temp anomaly is only given for the first session, so we’ll call it a touch warmer than normal for the whole outlook.

The first full week of August is a write-off. The swell barely nudges 3 ft on the 9th, but the energy is still only moderate at best (58). The wind is a constant problem. From Monday the 10th through to Wednesday the 12th, the swell drops even further, bottoming out at 1.0 ft with laughable energy (12-13). The wind is cross-on and choppy, making it a complete mess. The only good thing is the light breeze on the 12th, but there’s no swell to ride.

The second week doesn’t get much better. The 14th of August sees the swell finally push past 3 ft, but it’s short-period stuff (7 seconds) and the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, churning the surface. The energy is the highest we see at 75, but that’s still just moderate. The 15th and 16th drop back to 2 ft and 1 ft respectively. The 17th and 18th bring a little more consistency with 3 ft to 3 ft swells, but the wind is always cross-on or onshore, keeping the surf poor. The energy climbs to 64 on the 18th, but it’s messy.

Honestly, there is no standout session in this entire 16-day run. The best you could hope for is maybe the early morning of Saturday the 15th, with a light cross-shore breeze, but the swell is only 2 ft with weak energy (33). It’s not a day to get excited about. The Reef is inconsistent at the best of times, and with this tiny, short-period swell and constant onshore wind, it’s a flat spell. For a beginner, this is fine, but it’s not surf. With such small, weak surf and poor wind, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Rusty.

Read more